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Mississippi County
Neshoba County, Mississippi
Philadelphia's Freedom Summer murders and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians - from the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner (the June 21, 1964 murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner by Ku Klux Klan members with the complicity of Neshoba County law enforcement - the case that shocked the nation and accelerated passage of the Civil Rights Act - took place in Philadelphia, and the 41-year delay before Edgar Ray Killen's 2005 conviction made Neshoba County a symbol of both Mississippi's racial violence and its eventual reckoning) to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (the Choctaw Nation whose reservation in Neshoba County is one of the largest Native American tribal enterprises in the South, with the Pearl River Resort and Bingo Palace providing significant economic activity).
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Office: Neshoba County Emergency Operations Center – 911 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350 | (601) 656-3121 | Fax: (601) 656-2941 | Email: [email protected]; residents can report storm damage directly via the Crisis Track self-reporting tool.
Sheriff: Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office – 920 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350 | (601) 656-1414 | Fax: (601) 650-3998 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Eric Clark; the Law Enforcement Center opened January 1995. Some sentenced inmates may be held at the Kemper/Neshoba County Regional Correctional Institution in DeKalb, (601) 743-5767.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-45, MS-16, and MS-19 serve Philadelphia, the county seat, named after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1903.
Notes: Neshoba County was founded in 1833, its name derived from the Choctaw word for “wolf.” Roughly 28,730-29,090 residents across 570-572 square miles. At its peak in the early 20th century, the county had as many as 76 small post offices operating at various times; today only Philadelphia’s remains open.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Neshoba County Courthouse – Philadelphia, MS 39350.
Notes: Neshoba County is genuinely, gravely significant in American civil rights history as the site of one of the movement’s most infamous crimes. On June 21, 1964, during Freedom Summer, three young civil rights workers – James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner – were murdered by local Ku Klux Klan members, with the involvement of a sheriff’s deputy, after investigating the burning of Mt. Zion Methodist Church, which had been targeted for hosting a Freedom School. The case, which the FBI labeled “Mississippi Burning,” drew a massive federal search effort; the men’s bodies were found 44 days later, buried at an earthen dam. Federal prosecutions in 1967 convicted seven men on civil rights conspiracy charges, though none served more than six years; it was not until 2005 that the state of Mississippi convicted Edgar Ray Killen of manslaughter, following a renewed push for justice by the Philadelphia Coalition, a multiracial community group formed in 2004. The case remains a defining episode of the civil rights era and continues to shape the county’s public memory and reconciliation efforts. On a separate note, Neshoba County is also home to the Neshoba County Fair, “Mississippi’s Giant House Party” – founded in 1889 and now the nation’s largest campground fair, featuring over 600 family cabins passed down through generations, harness horse racing, and a century-long tradition (since 1896) of political speeches by state and national candidates, including past appearances by Ronald Reagan and John Glenn.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Neshoba County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via neshobacounty.net.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Meridian, MS VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Philadelphia-Neshoba County Public Library – confirm current address/phone via neshobacounty.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Neshoba County Fairgrounds (NRHP-listed) and the Neshoba County/Philadelphia Museum are the county’s premier attractions. Philadelphia-Neshoba County Park Commission oversees local recreation facilities.
Notes: Both the deeply significant 1964 civil rights history and the genuinely unique Neshoba County Fair are among the most historically important local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Neshoba County Tax Assessor/Collector – confirm current contact via neshobacounty.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Philadelphia Animal Control (No-Kill Shelter) – Philadelphia, MS | (601) 650-3587; adoption fee $10; 5-day stray hold, $25 reclaim fee with proof of rabies vaccination.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Neshoba County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via neshobacounty.net.
NOTES: Neshoba County is the first county in the eighth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. Both the deeply significant 1964 civil rights history (the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner) and the genuinely unique Neshoba County Fair are among the most historically important local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Neshoba County
Neshoba County is where Freedom Summer’s most notorious murders occurred – the 1964 killings of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner by the Klan brought the world’s attention to Mississippi’s racial terror, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ thriving reservation economy represents the county’s other essential identity.
Philadelphia (the county seat, population ~7,000) carries both histories – the Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial and the Choctaw Nation’s Pearl River Resort define a community living with its past and building its future.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Neshoba County Tax Assessor at 401 E. Beacon Street, Suite 105, Philadelphia, MS 39350, phone 601-656-4541. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Neshoba County Chancery Court at 401 E. Beacon Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350, phone 601-656-4781, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
401 Beacon St., Philadelphia, MS 39350
(601) 656-4781
CIRCUIT CLERK
401 Beacon St., Philadelphia, MS 39350
(601) 656-4781
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Neshoba County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The Neshoba County Courthouse in Philadelphia stands with a Confederate Monument on its grounds.
Local societies
No dedicated Neshoba County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Neshoba County Chancery Court 401 Beacon Street, Suite 107, Philadelphia, MS 39350 (601) 656-3581
Neshoba County was founded 1833, named from the Choctaw word for “wolf,” in east-central Mississippi, seated in Philadelphia – home of the Neshoba County Fair.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Mississippi has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code and instead follows its own statutory framework under Miss. Code Ann. Title 91, Chapter 7. Mississippi’s small-estate threshold, at $75,000, is one of the lowest in the country, so most estates end up needing at least some court involvement.
Small Estate Affidavit (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) – personal property only, up to $75,000 (excluding liens and encumbrances). A 30-day waiting period after death applies. The affidavit is presented directly to whoever holds the property (a bank, for instance); that party is not required to investigate the truth of the affidavit and is protected from liability once it complies.
Muniment of Title (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35) – a limited proceeding to transfer real property named in a will, without full administration, when the estate’s non-real-estate assets are $75,000 or less and all debts (including taxes) have been paid. A petition is still filed with the Chancery Court to declare the will valid; the will and court order are then recorded in the land records.
Formal Administration – required for most estates with real property beyond the muniment-of-title threshold or significant liquid assets. The Chancery Judge reviews the petition, the will (if any), and supporting documents before issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration appointing the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for probate
File a petition with the Chancery Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The personal representative inventories assets and notifies creditors; Mississippi’s creditor claim period runs 90 days (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145).
Claims and disputes are adjudicated by the Chancery Court if contested.
Once debts are settled and the creditor period closes, the estate can be distributed and closed.
What it costs
Costs are the Chancery Clerk’s per-county filing fee (built on the statewide base under Miss. Code § 25-7-9), plus recording fees and publication costs.
Mississippi has no state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could separately apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
401 Beacon St., Philadelphia, MS 39350
(601) 656-4781
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
401 Beacon St., Philadelphia, MS 39350
(601) 656-4781
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — East Region
(601) 656-1681
Neshoba County General Hospital
neshobageneral.com (Philadelphia — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Neshoba County General Hospital & Nursing Home – confirm current phone via neshobacounty.net.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Philadelphia
Population: 29,000
Area: 570 sq mi
Established: 1833
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Neshoba County residents.
